Hey Leonardo
by AkiraDawn
Summary: Best friends are always there for each other. Without Edward, Leonardo would have never had the guts to do this and without Leonardo; Edward would have never had the courage to talk to Mia! Of course, that's what friends are for! Contains OC. Enjoy!
1. The Situaion

Hey Leonardo

This might be the most innocent thing I've ever written lol! I just wrote it for fun and because I love the endearing friendship between Edward and Leonardo in Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. Also, Noelle is my OC so if you don't like OC's you may not like the story.

I do not own Fire Emblem nor do I make any money writing about FE.

Leonardo sighed and rolled his eyes as he sat across the table from Edward. "I'm so sorry, Edward. I couldn't get away as soon as I thought. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"No, no. It's alright. It's no bother. Besides, I haven't been here long. I took the liberty of ordering you a drink. It's an apple spice lager. I thought it sounded interesting and especially comforting in these cold days." Edward said.

"Oh, thanks. That does sound nice and I could really use that now. It's been a tough day today. So how have you been? I haven't seen you for a few days." Leonardo asked taking off his coat.

"Things have been the same ol' really. Work has gone well this week. Oh! And I got the lining fixed in my chimney yesterday! No more freezing at night! I can build fires again without risking burning the house down!" Edward said excitedly.

"That's great that you got that fixed. I remember you saying something about it earlier this week. Hey, do you mind if I order something? I haven't yet eaten tonight." Leonardo asked.

"Of course not, I'm going to order too, I'm starving." Edward said handing a menu over to Leonardo.

"Great, I can't say as I've eaten here in a while. It seems they have changed their menu." Leonardo observed. As the two friends looked over the menu before them, one of the waitresses delivered the sweet smelling spiced ale to the table.

"Would you like some time to look over the menu?" the waitress asked.

"Please if you don't mind." Edward said. She nodded and smiled, indicating she would return in a few minutes.

"Would you split an order of stuffed mushrooms with me? I don't want all of them but I would like to have a few with my meal." Edward asked.

"Yeah, sure I'll do that." Leonardo answered.

"Excellent! In that case, I have made my decision!" Edward proclaimed putting the menu down. Leonardo followed suit and had reached a decision.

"You know, it's a good thing you got your chimney fixed today. It's supposed to snow tonight." Leonardo told Edward.

"Really? I wasn't aware. A significant amount?" Edward asked.

"I don't think so, at least when I talked to the baker in town today he didn't think it was supposed to be much." Leonardo told him. The waitress returned and he and Edward placed their orders. Once the waitress left Edward raised his glass.

"Here's to another week's end!" Edward said clanging his glass against Leonardo's.

"To the week's end!" Leonardo chimed in. The lager tasted delicious, slightly sweet, a perfect finish of cinnamon and hopps. It was a dark larger with a rich body.

"So, the winter dinner is next week." Edward said raising his eyebrows at Leonardo. Leonardo avoided eye contact and smiled. Edward watched him turn a little pink.

"I know, I know its next week." Leonardo said a bit shamefully. Edward smiled.

"Do you…have in mind who you want to ask?" Edward said raising his glass to his lips.

"Yes…" Leonardo said glaring at Edward over the top of his own glass.

"Is it…who I think it is?" Edward asked teasingly.

"I don't know if I can do it. What if she…what if she says no? Then things will be all awkward and I'll never be able to look her in the face again." Leonardo asked.

"Leonardo! You're like….every woman's fantasy! She's not going to say no!" Edward insisted. Leonardo shook his head completely unconvinced.

"But Edward…this is Noelle…she's not every woman…she's…she's so kind and so sweet and so great and so…" Edward cut him off.

"And so not going to the dinner with you if you don't ask her!"

"Well, who are you going with?" Leonardo asked taking another sip of lager. Edward smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Mia…" Edward responded quickly, raising his eyebrows at Leonardo.

"M…Mm…Mia? Wait…wha? Mia!? Are you serious?" Leonardo was quite surprised at this revelation.

"What? You don't think she's cute?" Edward wanted to know.

"No, no…it's not that. I'm just….I'm just really surprised. I kind of thought she was with that Ike…fellow." Leonardo said.

"No….according to Mia….apparently Ike has it bad for that Titania girl. Admit it, you think she's out of my league don't you?" Edward said smiling all over.

"Well honestly Edward…yes…yes I do. I'm sorry, I am just really shocked that you're showing up to the dinner with Mia. I mean don't get me wrong for a minute I'm happy for you that she's going with you…I'm just shocked. I thought you were going to ask Laura. Mia isn't even from Daein!" Leonardo confessed.

"I was going to ask Laura. In fact…I did ask Laura but she's going to be out of town." Edward said. "And you know I'm going to be very honest with you…I like Mia a little more than I probably should…not the secret way that you're in love with Noelle and refuse to tell her but more along the lines of…I'd be okay with being more than friends with Mia kind of way…she's a nice girl. I like the way she laughs." Edward said.

"I think you like her tights." Leonardo said smiling all over.

"Leonardo!" Edward shrieked laughing at him.

"No…no I'm just kidding. I don't mean that." Leonardo said laughing with him. "And I am not in love with Noelle! I just…fine…I adore her. She is…so amazing."

"Okay, so let's talk about that over these mushrooms and another lager!" Edward said looking at the lovely golden mushrooms before them.

Noelle. She had lived in Daein all her life. She was the town seamstress and very skilled at what she did. Some even said she was the best in Daein at her trade. It seemed she could mend or make anything. Leonardo had known Noelle in what was seemingly a business relationship for about a year now. In this time, he learned that she cared for her ailing father who required medication on a regular schedule as well as assistance in such daily tasks as bathing and getting dressed. Noelle loved her father dearly, though caring for him left her hardly any time for herself. Between her business, her duties in the house and caring for her father; it's a wonder Noelle had such a bright outlook on life. But Leonardo never knew Noelle to have an unkind word to say to anyone nor had he ever heard her complain about her life. In fact, Leonardo had never seen Noelle without a smile in all the time he had known her.

"You have one week. The dinner is next Saturday. What are you going to do Leonardo, just keep on admiring Noelle from afar? You have to do this! You have to ask her!" Leonardo looked at Edward as he tasted one of the mushrooms.

"Well, I am going to her house tomorrow. She has my jacket done and I need to try it on so she can make the final alterations to it. She's working on this wedding gown….my god Edward you should see it! It's amazing how she can just look at a pattern and then she has this vision for how…" Edward cut him off.

"Oh I'm sure it's amazing, Leonardo…now….you're going over there tomorrow so just ask her when she's sticking pins all over you!" Edward said taking the first drink of his freshly refilled lager.

"I'll be way too nervous…this is the second jacket she's done for me and when she puts her hands on me…I just freeze and hardly say a word to her. I know that's stupid but…I do." Leonardo admitted.

"Look, if you don't ask Noelle to go to the winter dinner with you…you're just going to end up going with some other girl that you don't really want to go with but who I'm sure is just dying to go with you. Come on Leonardo! Just do this! I'll even wait for you somewhere close to her house so we can talk about it after you ask her!" Edward said convincing Leonardo that he needed to do this. He was such a good friend. Leonardo sighed nervously and took a drink.

"Alright…alright…I'll…I'll do it tomorrow. But Edward, you have to promise me that if this doesn't go the way I have it planned in my head…" Edward cut Leonardo off and smiled at him.

"I'm here for you and you don't have to go to the winter dinner with anyone else if she doesn't say yes." Edward said.

"Thanks, Edward." Leonardo said smiling at him.


	2. An Answer

Leonardo made his way through the newly fallen snow that had coated the ground the night before. He approached the sidewalk that lead to Noelle's door. He noticed a sign she had hung there: WITH A CUSTOMER PLEASE COME IN. Normally, her appointments would always knock and she would let them in but anytime she was working with another customer she would always hang the sign on the door so her other customers would know to come in and make themselves at home. Noelle's home was not at all big enough to accommodate her business and her life…but it was all she had and she didn't mind at all to share where she lived with the public. Leonardo could hear Noelle in another room with her customer. He nervously sat on the edge of the couch near the window. He could have taken the liberty to take his scarf and coat off but he was just too nervous. Noelle's laughter from the other room was music to his ears. Leonardo did manage to pull his gloves off and put them in his pocket. He was still sitting on the edge of the couch until he heard a tiny meowing sound. A kitten appeared before Leonardo from underneath the couch.

"Oh…hello there kitty." Leonardo petted the kitten only to hear it start purring. "You're a furry little one." It was just what Leonardo needed to relax him at least a little bit. The kitten jumped up beside Leonardo. He smiled at the kitten as he pulled his scarf off. "Would like to lay on my scarf?" he asked the kitten curling his scarf up on the couch. Leonardo took his coat off and laid it on the floor beside the couch as he watched the kitten curl up on his scarf. Leonardo could hear Noelle's voice coming closer.

"I'm so glad you like what you see so far. It's coming along nicely. So, I'll see you again in two weeks on the 12th after I complete the buttons on the bodice and you can try it on again and then we'll see if anything else needs altered." Noelle explained to her customer.

"Oh, I can't wait to try it on again. Thank you, I'll see you later." Noelle's customer caught sight of Leonardo on the couch as she made her way to the door. She put alluring eyes all over him. "Hi there." She said putting her hand on the doorknob.

"Hello." Leonardo answered not paying her much attention.

"Bye, MaKenna!" Noelle called to her as she opened the door to leave.

"Hi!" Noelle greeted Leonardo glowing all over. "I see you've met my new little buddy." Noelle said pulling the cloth tape measure from off her neck.

"I...I have, he jumped up here when I came in." Leonardo said.

"I found him a couple of days ago outside meowing his little heart out and he looked so hungry. I couldn't bear to see him so distraught." Noelle said. "Oh, you haven't been waiting long have you? I'm a little backed up today and my bride came in earlier and that took longer than I had anticipated." Noelle explained.

"Oh its fine, I haven't been here long at all." Leonardo said. Noelle smiled.

"So um….I should tell you I did something to your jacket…I…well it's not green anymore. See, I was...I was at this market outside of town and I found this fabric that was just beautiful and when I saw it…I…well I thought of you and how perfect this fabric would be…I mean not that the green wouldn't…be…just perfect…but…" Noelle nervously tripped over her words. "Just come see." She smiled as Leonardo stood up and followed Noelle. She lead him through her kitchen and into one of the back rooms of her home where she had piles and piles of sewing projects for others.

"It appears you're quite busy these days, Noelle." Leonardo observed all her neatly organized completed and incomplete projects.

"I have, indeed. It's been a good thing though. My father has recently began taking a new medication and it's quite expensive. I can use all this work and the wedding gown I'm working on is a blessing right now. Here we go! Are you ready to see it?" Noelle asked excitedly. Leonardo shook his head yes and Noelle revealed the jacket as promised…except instead of it being green as planned it was a beautiful black and gold brocade. Leonardo couldn't believe it.

"Oh my…Noelle it's….it's just beautiful. It's so…..wow…this is going to be the fanciest thing in my closet that's for sure." Leonardo didn't know whether to panic with excitement that Noelle actually thought of HIM when she picked this fabric out or to panic over the fact that he knew he would have to try this on so she could pin it.

"I'm so glad you think so! Here, try it on. I'm sure I still have some adjustments to make." Noelle said handing the lovely brocade piece over to Leonardo so she could get her pin pillow. She got underneath her sewing table to retrieve it while Leonardo stood before the full length mirror in the room now wearing this fabulous black brocade jacket.

"I wasn't sure when…" Noelle stopped talking and found herself staring, mouth agape at the sight of Leonardo. She also knew he would look immaculate and amazing in black but she had not prepared for herself to respond like this. Pull your act together Noelle and stop staring! She silently scolded herself.

"Is something wrong?" Leonardo asked of her.

"No, no no….no…I just…well I'll be quite honest…I knew this would look good on you but I hadn't expected it to look this good…" Noelle could feel her face certainly turn red. Leonardo smiled with delight. Oh my god, maybe she secretly liked him the way that he liked her! Or maybe Leonardo was just wishful thinking. He was doing just fine….until Noelle put her fingers on his shoulders. Now he could feel his throat grow tight and now would be the part where he said nothing and just panicked instead. Noelle was still in a little bit of a trance. "It…fits really well…maybe just a dart here…" Leonardo swallowed hard as he felt her hand slide down the front of his chest and place a pin at his side. "And…here…" Leonardo watched her dreamily as she ran her fingers over the gold trim at his waist checking for evenness all around. "Excellent." Noelle commented brushing off the stray threads. "Don't worry, you can easily wear a quiver on your back." Noelle reassured him stepping back.

"It's….it's perfect…thank you Noelle." Leonardo was grateful.

"I'll have it done for you next week, is that okay? I'll sew the darts in and finish the buttons. Say…next Wednesday?" Noelle said putting her pin pillow down as Leonardo handed this stunning garment back to her. He was running out of time. Leonardo heard the bell that was attached to Noelle's door which indicated she had another customer after him. He had better talk and fast!

"Of course, yes. There's no hurry so if you have something more pressing." Leonardo reassured her. Noelle picked up her cloth tape measure again and shoved it in the pocket of her apron.

"I'll have it done and I'm glad you were okay with me having switched the fabric." Noelle had nearly walked out of the room. In another fifteen seconds Leonardo would lose the opportunity to ask her to the winter dinner and then Edward would kill him for sure! Leonardo could feel his heart racing.

"Uh…Noelle?" he was so nervous.

"Yes?" She turned to face him. Why!? Why did she have such a kind face! Such calm and unthreatening brown eyes! And why did she push her long black hair from her face so delicately!? Why!?

"No…Noelle, I was wondering…see there's this…this dinner next Saturday…it's called the winter dinner. Micaiah has it every year…um…" Leonardo fidgeted horribly. "Noelle, I was wondering if maybe….maybe if you weren't busy…if you'd come to the winter dinner with me?" There, the deed was done! Oooooh god the deed was done…now what….oh my god there was silence right now…oooooh god no one was saying anything! Noelle smiled nervously and felt her face getting hot.

"I'd love to! Yes, yes absolutely." She answered delighted after she had gained her composure.

"Well, that's fine I understand…I just thought that maybe…wait what!? Yes? Yes, you'll go with me…to the….winter dinner…thing?" Leonardo was dumbfounded right now. He had completely set himself up for rejection. "Oh my god…Noelle that's…that's perfect!" Leonardo tried to hide his excitement. "Oh you'll have a wonderful time! It's such a fun night and there's…" Leonardo shook his head and cut himself off. "You know what, never mind! You'll see next Saturday!" Leonardo beamed with excitement. "I should tell you, that everyone in attendance has to make something for the dinner. Me and Edward are baking all of this bread and I'm going to make a cranberry salad just because." Leonardo explained excitedly.

"Oh, I have lots of recipes. I'll go through them and pick out something for a crowd." Noelle said. She couldn't hide the fact that she was glowing all over.

"Great! Okay…um…I'll be by to get you next Saturday at 6:00. We'll go with Edward and he's taking this girl Mia. I hope that's alright." Leonardo said now regaining his composure.

"I'll look forward to it." Noelle said walking Leonardo back through her kitchen. Noelle's next customer was sitting near the door, an older woman whom Noelle had been sewing for the past few years. The kitten was curled up asleep on Leonardo's scarf.

"Hi Mildred, did you bring me those curtains you were talking about?" Noelle greeted the woman. Leonardo reluctantly woke the sleeping kitten to take his scarf back.

"You better bundle up son, it's cold out there!" the older woman cautioned Leonardo.

"Thank you for the warning." He said to her. "I'll see you next week." He said to Noelle. Once Leonardo was outside he let out sigh of relief and couldn't stop smiling. He knew if anyone was watching him they would have to think he was ridiculous out here smiling for no reason in the middle of the snow. Now it was time to go meet Edward down at the corner where the market vendors started lining up their wares. Leonardo hurried down the street towards the market. He couldn't stand the fact that he actually had to stop and wait on the passing Nevassa traffic before he could get through the intersection. Why were there so many horse drawn carts out today anyway? Once there was a break he dashed across the street and into the merchants to look for Edward.

As promised, there was Edward standing near a cart full of flowers. He waved to Leonardo and rushed over to him. "Leonardo!" Edward called hurrying through the snow. "Well?" Edward asked him a bit breathless and wide eyed. Leonardo couldn't hide his overzealousness.

"She said yes." He shared with Edward smiling all over.

"See, I told you she would!" Edward said punching him in the shoulder.

"I can't believe she said yes! I just can't believe it." Leonardo said as he walked with Edward. "Hey, by the way…who is Nolan taking to the winter dinner?"

"Oh, Nephenee." Edward said.

"Wait…the girl with the javelin?" Leonardo asked. Edward laughed.

"I can't believe you just called Nephenee the girl with the javelin!" Edward was quite amused.

"What!? I barely know Nephenee! I barely remember that her name is Nephenee! But I do remember that she has a javelin." Leonardo said.

"Well, I guess he got to know her through that Brom fellow; who seems like a nice guy." Edward explained.

"Come on, we need to pick out our bread recipe and make a list of things we're going to need for next week. I have fresh bagels at the house and a tea kettle ready to be boiled." Edward said.


	3. The Baking Episode

The day of the winter dinner had arrived. There was a lot of work to be done. Edward and Leonardo had a lot of baking and wrapping of bread loaves to do before the evening was upon them. Of course, when Leonardo arrived at Edward's house this morning with a sack full of ingredients…he didn't know he would find Edward in the middle of a crisis. He knocked on Edward's door but when no one answered Leonardo let himself in only to find Edward fanning his stone oven.

"Edward? What's going on?" Leonardo asked putting the bag on the floor.

"Leonardo!!! I've ruined the first three loaves! I left them in the oven too long and they started to smolder.!" Edward yelled panicking.

"Well just…calm down. I'm sure it's not a big deal. Here, I'll help you fan the smoke away from the oven. Leonardo calmly grabbed the blanket off Edward's couch and joined him in fanning the stone oven which should have smelled of the sweet scent of bread loaves, but instead wreaked of smoke.

"What are we going to do!?" Edward asked panicking.

"We're going to fan the smoke until it dissipates and we're just going to start over. We have plenty of stuff and if we run out of yeast or something we can always go get some more in town." Leonardo said logically. But to Edward, this was the end of the world that he left the first batch in too long. They did have 12 loaves to make for this dinner and they had to pack them all so there was a lot of work ahead of them.

"Hey, where's your cranberry thing?" Edward asked amongst all the smoke?

"I left it outside, it's cold out there so I figured that was the best place to keep it cool." Leonardo told him. Leonardo opened Edward's kitchen window to help ventilate the kitchen quicker.

"It's freezing out there! What are you doing!?" Edward asked excitedly.

"Its okay, this will help the smoke out the window so the kitchen will clear out faster." Leonardo reassured him.

"So, we should fan that way?" Edward asked referring to the window.

"Yes, let's go that way." Leonardo said. Soon enough, the smoke in the kitchen was starting to clear. "Alright, that's good enough let's get the burned loaves out of the oven and start over." Leonardo said. Edward sighed.

"Thanks for helping me. I'm sorry I burned those, I thought they would be fine. Is that what you're wearing tonight?" Edward asked putting on oven mitts to reach into the stone oven for the blackened loaves.

"Probably not, I'd say I'll have flour all over me by the time we're done today. I'll go change when we're done today and then come back. So, are you picking Mia up or…what exactly?" Leonardo asked him throwing fresh flour on their kneading surface.

"She stayed at an inn on the border last night and she's coming in the rest of the way today and coming straight here. I was going to offer that she could just stay here instead of staying at the inn in town tonight but I thought that might be weird. I didn't want anyone to think anything." Edward said throwing the three burned loaves out the kitchen window for the birds.

"I understand. So…please, please tell me Edward. How exactly did the conversation go with Mia? You normally run things like that by me first." Leonardo asked.

"I wanted to surprise you! After I knew Laura couldn't go I knew Mia was still in town after doing some trading with the blacksmith. So, I thought to myself Leonardo would just die if I actually asked Mia to the winter dinner…so I caught up with her in town and first we started talking about what she was trading at the blacksmith. After that, we took a bag of bird seed to the park and fed the birds. She told me all these amazing stories about what was happening in Crimea right now Then, I took her over to the Keep and showed her around the grounds. And the very best part was that we just never ran out of conversation! And then…" Leonardo cut him off. He was smiling all over.

"Edward! You didn't just go up and ask Mia to the winter dinner! You've already a first date with Mia!" Leonardo told him pounding the dough before him.

"What!? No I haven't! We just spent the day together and had so much in common and had a great time and made plans to go to the winter dinner and…oooooooh…" Edward stopped his frantic sentence. "Ooooooooh…you know…I think you might be right. Because we're going out for breakfast tomorrow morning after she stays over in town. We had already talked about it!" Edward said realizing just now what was unfolding.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this!?" Leonardo asked of him.

"Because I obviously didn't realize I had been on a date with Mia!" Edward said laughing.

"And…why did you have to ask yourself what I would do in that situation? Because it sounds like you handed it well on your own." Leonardo said brushing butter over the first unbaked bread loaf before it went in the oven.

"But that's just it. If you weren't here for me to tell this stuff to I wouldn't be excited about anything. I wouldn't care if I ever talked to Mia. Because no one else would understand how it wasn't easy for me even though it sounds like it was." Edward confessed. Leonardo smiled at him.

"It sounds like you have more in common with Mia than Laura. Maybe fate worked it out that Laura couldn't go to the dinner." Leonardo said. Edward was beaming.

"Maybe you're right." He said. "By the way, as of last night we're going to go to the dinner with Nolan and Nephenee. Nolan said he didn't care to come by and pick us up. Besides, there's a lot of room in his coach so we can pack the food up easily." Edward explained.

"That's great. I told Noelle I would come get her at 6:00 tonight so I guess we'll just come back here?" Leonardo asked.

"Yes, that will work just fine." Edward said. "Hey, you know what? We really need to warn Mia and Noelle about Sothe and Micaiah."

"What do you mean?" Leonardo wondered.

"That sometimes Sothe thinks he's better than everyone else and how sometimes Micaiah can come across as fake even though she means well?" Edward reminded Leonardo.

"You're right. You know how much I care about Sothe and Micaiah but sometimes they act exactly that way." Leonardo admitted.

"I know, I wonder why that is? They are both nice to be around but sometimes Sothe especially comes off a little strong." Edward said.

"Just one of those things I suppose. I really hope they aren't all over each other tonight like they were last year. That was just awful to deal with." Leonardo said.

"Yeah, it really was. Totally killed the fact that the turkey and the ham were delicious. Speaking of which, what's Noelle making for tonight? Mia made this chocolate candy that I can't wait to try!" Edward said.

"I don't know. I just told her that we all needed to bring something. I'm anxious to see and taste what she made. I'm sure it will be delicious…it's Noelle, everything she does is perfect." Leonardo said. Edward shook his head.

'That's the smitten side of you talking! What if it's awful! What if she's an awful cook!? Then what?" Edward demanded.

"She won't be an awful cook, you just wait and see." Leonardo said.

"There we go! First batch is done. Let's go ahead and get started on the next loaves. Do you know how many are expected to show up tonight?" Edward asked.

"No clue…I think last year there were about 50? I'm thinking it will be about the same this year." Leonardo inferred.

"So…you were so nervous about actually asking Noelle to this thing. Are you nervous now that you're going to actually have to be with her tonight at the dinner?" Edward wondered.

"No…no not at all. Noelle is easy to talk to. I talked to her all the time when she would repair things for me. The hard part is over. Now I get to be with her this whole evening." Leonardo said. But Edward was about to make this more complicated.

"So what happens when tonight is over? Then what? Are you just never going to see Noelle again except for when you need something sewn?" Edward questioned.

"Actually, I'm going to see if she wants to do something later this week." Leonardo told him. Now that was the confident Leonardo that Edward knew. Edward smiled.

"Like what?" Edward wondered.

"Well, I don't know yet. I haven't thought that far." Edward smiled bigger.

"So, you're not nervous about her saying no if you ask her to do something else?

"No, like I said the hard part's over." Leonardo said confidently. Edward thought for a moment destined to prove Leonardo wrong.

"Wait! What happens when Micaiah wants us all to join hands at the table and bless the goddesses for our meal! Then what!" Edward was getting worked up.

"It'll be fine Edward, really." Leonardo said laughing at him.

"Yeah, you say that now. But just wait until you actually go get her. Then the nerves will kick in!" Edward said confident that he was right. Only time would tell.


	4. Mia's Arrival

"Hi Edward!" Mia said excitedly. "Do you always keep cranberries on your steps?" Mia asked.

"No, those are Leonardo's. Come in! Come in! It's freezing out here and snowing!" Edward said pulling Mia through the door.

"Do you mind if I leave my luggage here until we get back tonight and I can check in to the inn?"Mia asked.

"No, I don't mind. How was your trip?" Edward asked moving over to his couch.

"It was fine. The weather could have been better for the first hour but overall it was a decent trip. What in the world is in those boxes over there?" Mia wondered as she joined Edward on the couch.

"Oh that's the bread that me and Leonardo made today. Wait, you do remember my friend Leonardo, right?" Edward wondered.

"I think I do, he's an archer right?" Mia asked.

"Wow Mia! You remember everything!" Edward said excitedly. Mia laughed.

"Well, I try. So, where is he anyway?"

"Probably on his way here now since he pretty much has to be here in fifteen minutes or we're leaving him. I'm teasing, I wouldn't leave Leonardo." Edward said. Meanwhile, across town Noelle heard a knock at her door. She knew it was Leonardo but she was wrapping up a casserole in the kitchen. She didn't want to keep him waiting so she put the foil down in the middle of measuring it.

"Hi! Hi come in, I'm just wrapping things up." Noelle said opening the door. Crap…Leonardo hadn't expected her to look this beautiful. She was always beautiful, she was Noelle but her dress of a brushed golden color was more than perfect. "I just need to cover the casseroles I made and then we can go." Noelle said returning to the kitchen.

"So what kind of casserole did you make?" Leonardo asked following her into the kitchen. It must have been something good because the house was filled with a delicious smell.

"I know you said there would be a crowd, so I made a chicken noodle casserole, a couple of pumpkin pies, and a sweet potato casserole." Noelle said.

"Wow….you went over and above. But I can assure you it will all be eaten. I'm glad you interpreted my words literally. And I hope you don't mind me saying but um…you look so beautiful." Leonardo really wasn't sure if he should tell her that or not. Noelle could feel her face turning pink. She smiled.

"Thank you. I'm…not used to people saying things like that to me. Let me get my cloak and we can go." Noelle disappeared into a closet in the hallway. Even her cloak was a beautiful scarlet.

"What would you like for me to carry? Leonardo questioned her.

"Would you care to take the casseroles? They are still hot but not so hot that they'll burn. I promise." Noelle asked tying her cloak around her and fastening the buttons.

"I don't mind at all. We can pack these up at Edward's house. We're leaving from there. I'll introduce you to our friend Nolan. He'll be with a woman named Nephenee tonight. I don't know her that well so all I can do is introduce you to her." Leonardo said making his way to the door. "Actually the more I think about it, I don't know very much about Mia either. That's who's going with Edward tonight. She's from Crimea."

"Oh really? That had to have been a big trip for her in this weather. Oh! I'm going to go tell my father goodbye very quickly. I'll be right back!" Noelle sat the pies down at the door and hurried upstairs. To bid her father a farewell. She wasn't gone long. "Okay, just had to give him one last check. I'm ready now." Noelle locked the door behind her once they were outside.

"I don't mean to ask you anything too personal, but what happened with your father?" Leonardo wondered if this was appropriate to ask her.

"He had a stroke four years ago. He can't speak but he can write well and express his thoughts that way. He's paralyzed on the left side of his body and he hasn't walked since it happened. I thought that maybe I could help him walk again but it just wasn't possible. He doesn't like to leave the house because communicating with others embarrasses him as does being in his wheelchair. I offer all the time to take him outside but he doesn't want anybody to see him." Noelle explained.

"That's very kind of you to care for him so." Leonardo said.

"It's my duty, he raised me so now it's my turn to care for him." Noelle said. "Do you live with Edward?"

"No, Edward lives about four blocks south of town on Spruce Street. I live on the east side of town in the Pine Barrens community." Leonardo explained. Noelle's face lit up.

"You live in the Pine Barrens!? Oh Leonardo, that's a lovely place to live. I wanted so much to move me and my father there a few years ago. But the money just wasn't there at the time. Maybe someday though." Noelle said.

"I do like it there. It's just out of the Nevassa hustle but close enough to still get in the middle of things. Let's cut down this street. It's a little closer to Edward's from this street." Leonardo led her closer to Edward's where right now Edward was in the middle of one of his fantastic tales…

"Then what happened!?" Mia asked nearly falling off the couch in excitement.

"It was the most amazing thing ever! There were these fireworks over the Keep and you could hear all these people cheering on the inside of the walls! And then you could hear the drawbridge being lowered for all the outsiders to come in!" Edward said flailing his hands in the air. He was so animated when he got into these kinds of stories.

"Wow!" Mia said wide eyed and completely enthralled in whatever Edward was talking about.

"It happens every year in the summer! Oh, Mia! You should make plans right now to come see it! It's the biggest festival in Daein and it's held to celebrate the year Nevassa became the capital!" Edward said. Edward's grand story was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Oh! I bet that's Leonardo!" Edward said rushing to the door. He turned and looked at Mia. "It is Leonardo! I was right!" Oh Edward, who else would it be?

"We made it. It's really snowing out there. Noelle made a lot of food I'm going to pack it up with the bread. Hi Mia, it's nice to see you this evening. I hope your trip was okay." Leonardo greeted her. Noelle stepped inside.

"Hi Edward. I haven't you in a long time." Noelle greeted him making certain her shoes were free from snow at the door.

"Noelle! Come and meet Mia!" Edward was still wound up from his story.

"Oh certainly, let me put these pies on the table." Noelle did exactly that so Leonardo could pack them away. She walked over to where Mia was sitting. "Hi, I'm Noelle, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Mia. I'm here from Crimea. Nevassa's an interesting place. Edward's going to take me around town tomorrow before I have to leave." Mia said.

"I told her we'd have breakfast tomorrow at The Lantern! And then we're going to the lake and then we're going to hike out to Culdron's Peak and then…." Leonardo cut Edward off.

"Edward relax, you don't have to yell." He laughed at him.

"Sorry, Leonardo says I can get a little worked up sometimes." Edward confessed. Noelle laughed.

"It's alright." Leonardo sat beside Noelle while they all waited on Nolan and Nephenee to arrive. He could smell her hair and that made him nervous but he didn't know why.

"Oh, by the way…there were some cranberries outside?" Noelle said.

"Yes, that's the sad little bowl of cranberry salad I made. I obviously didn't make enough now that I reflect on the number of people who will be here tonight." Leonardo said.

"Don't worry Leonardo! We have 22 loaves of bread and you know that will be more than enough!" Edward said reassuringly.

"Wait until you try my chocolate candy! I made a triple batch of it. I love my chocolate candy. It has caramel in it too." Mia said. Just then there was another knock at the door. It was Nolan and Nephenee. Edward rushed to the door to greet him.

"Hey, everybody! You ready to go? Oh, what's with the…" Leonardo cut him off.

"They're my cranberries…"

"Leonardo, oh my god I haven't seen you for at least a month maybe more!" Nolan walked over to Leonardo and threw his arms around him. "How have you been…and who's that?" Nolan said the last part softly nodding his head toward Noelle on the couch.

"Nolan, this is Noelle. Noelle, I've known Nolan since I was about sixteen."

"It is my pleasure to meet you. Tell me all about yourself as we travel to Sothe and Micaiah's." Nolan said.

"Where's Nephenee?" Mia asked getting up from the couch and getting her coat.

"She's rearranging some things in the coach so we can fit everything in. Let's go load up." Nolan said opening the door.


	5. Questions

"Nolan!" Micaiah and Sothe both came to the door and greeted him.

"It is so good to see you two! How is the married life treating you?" Nolan asked.

"Wonderfully! Come in, come on get in here!" Micaiah smiled and moved out of the way. Sothe and Micaiah knew everyone in attendance…well except for Noelle.

"Hi, I'm Noelle. Thank you for having me in your home." Noelle was quite grateful for their hospitality.

"We're glad you're here, let me take your cloak. I'll put it in the hall closet. Micaiah will take your dishes." Sothe said. Noelle handed over her cloak on the pile that Sothe had accumulated. Nolan and Nephenee had already taken off for the dining hall where the other guests had gathered. It was safe to say that Sothe and Micaiah were living in nothing short of a mansion. How they acquired it wasn't entirely clear. But it was beautiful and perfect for such social functions.

"Come on, we'll go into the dining hall. That's where all the action is." Leonardo told Noelle.

"I can't believe this place, it's beautiful." Noelle said softly.

"It really is. Last year, Edward spilled red wine on this fancy rug in the study where we were with Sothe and you should have seen Edward…he went berserk." Leonardo laughed.

"They serve wine with dinner?" Noelle asked.

"Always. It's usually a pretty nice wine." Leonardo told her.

"I'm interested to know what is chosen. I have a wine cellar at home. It's a hobby of mine." Noelle shared.

"Really? So you know like what the differences are and things like that?" Leonardo was intrigued.

"Yes, That's part of what you learn in the process." Noelle said.

"Hey! Have you guys seen Nolan and Nephenee?" Mia asked Noelle as she and Edward caught up.

"I think they are already seated." Noelle told Mia. Micaiah could set a marvelous table. Their dining hall looked beautiful tonight and Micaiah had everything perfectly spread out the way she wanted it. Sothe thought it would have looked better to set the table with a burgundy runner since that was the color or the room. But Micaiah wanted green and anything Micaiah wanted Micaiah got because Sothe could never tell her no.

"Once again, Micaiah goes over and above in here!" Edward said.

"She did a really nice job. That's Micaiah, she has a vision and makes it happen." Leonardo agreed with him. Just then Leonardo froze where he was standing. He felt a hand softly touch his shoulder.

"I don't mean to be rude…but…how do you know these two?" Noelle asked him softly. It was a fair question. That hadn't been covered on the trip here. The problem now was that Leonardo's eyes were locked on her hand resting there and he had no clue what she had just asked. There was her fragile hand right there on his shoulder….oh my god what did that mean!? Snap out of it like…right now Leonardo!

"I'm…I'm sorry you said something…I have no idea what you said." Leonardo admitted.

"This…Sothe and Micaiah…how do you know them?" she asked again.

"Ooooh geez, wow…I didn't tell you anything…" And so Leonardo explained how he and Edward came to meet Sothe and Micaiah and how they were like family to them. Before he could completely finish telling her all about these two Sothe called everyone to the table. So, here everybody way. Sothe at the head of the table and Micaiah to his right. A few scattered guests in between that no one really knew. It was assumed that they were close acquaintances of Sothe. Then there was Nolan, Nephenee to his right, Noelle beside Nephenee, followed by Leonardo then Edward and Mia beside Edward. Beside Mia was one of Micaiah's diplomats. It was good the diplomat was beside Mia, she would talk to anyone.

"We all know that in this house there is one woman that always comes first, tonight the ladies fill their plates. My beautiful wife will bless this meal." Sothe said. Edward rolled his eyes. Sothe could give it a rest for at least 12 seconds. Micaiah bubbled all over. She took Sothe's hand and thus this very moment that Edward had mentioned earlier where everybody joins hands at the table occurred. But this wasn't a big deal…the real issue right now was Noelle put her hand on Leonardo's shoulder and Leonardo was still trying to figure out what that meant!

So instead, it was Edward who found himself in his own predicament. Mia squealed a bit unexpectedly.

"Um…Edward…I can't feel my fingers." Mia said. Edward had her hand locked in a death grip.

"Oh! Oh I'm sorry! I guess I just…I got a little excited." Edward said. Mia laughed.

"It's okay, Edward. I still like you a lot." Mia was still laughing as she bowed her head in prayer. What did she just say? She just said something about liking Edward a lot!? Edward felt the color fade from his face. His probably went limp in hers. Because now everyone else's head was bowed around him and here he was pale as a sheet staring across the table in pure bewilderment. Now what!? What happens now!? Should he say something to her after this prayer!? It was too late to think. This prayer was over and Mia had pushed her chair away from the table and picked up her plate. Thank goodness the women had gotten up from the table…it was time to absolutely flip out…

Leonardo grabbed Edward's arm tightly. "She touched my shoulder…" Leonardo said a bit frantically wishing Sothe would open the evening's bottle of wine faster. Edward was still a bit shocked so he didn't quite get all that.

"What!?" Edward asked despondently.

"Noelle…put her hand on my shoulder…what does that mean!?" Leonardo asked impatiently. Edward smiled all over. He had temporarily dismissed his own dilemma because he was so amused. He laughed.

"You're freaking out!" Edward said. His eyes shining.

"Edward focus!" Leonardo said still completely on edge.

"This is great! Look at you! Your composure is completely gone! Do it again!" Edward said more than delighted.

"Edward!" Leonardo said throwing his face in his hands.

"Okay, okay I'm ready to listen! What did she do?"" Edward asked.

"She put her hand on my shoulder!" Leonardo said again.

"No way!" Edward said his eyes lighting up like gemstones.

"Yes! What does that mean!?" Leonardo asked frantically trying his best not to grab Edward and shake him. He knew Edward had the answer on the tip of his tongue.

"I have no idea!" Edward replied still smiling. "Wait, I know ask Nolan!" Leonardo took a deep breath. It was time to regroup.

"Maybe…but I don't know." Leonardo said calmly.

"Well, while you are pondering that I have to tell you something. Mia said she liked me a lot. See, I was cutting the circulation off in her hand and…never mind that's not important. She said she liked me a lot…that's what's important." Edward said. Leonardo smiled.

"Really? Well…do you like her? You know, I mean like her like her?" Leonardo asked him.

"I do…I really do…ooooh my…I like her like her." This was the first Edward realized this. All this time he thought it was Laura that he was after. That wasn't the case anymore.

Once all the ladies had returned it was time to switch roles. Sothe had finally worked his way round the table to where our friends were seated.

"What do you do Noelle? In Nevassa, what do you do?" Sothe asked filling her glass.

"I'm a seamstress." She answered. Sothe smirked.

"A seamstress? Really?" Mia was mortified by what Sothe had just said.

"I see you're serving a Bordeaux tonight? Those wines have a nice finish." Noelle remarked.

"A Seamstress knows wine?" Sothe asked a smile creeping across his face.

"Yes, I collect wines actually. You were wise to select a Bordeaux with the meats. They go together well." Noelle had Sothe under her inadvertent spell.

"The seamstress knows wine…I'm impressed by your knowledge. Leonardo did good." Sothe said before moving on. Noelle wasn't entirely sure what that meant but whatever…this was Sothe.

"Can I ask you something?" Mia said moving over close to Noelle.

"Sure you can." Noelle reassured her.

"How well do you know Edward?" Mia asked looking around to make sure no one was listening to her.

"Not terribly well. I've sewn for him a little, but that's about it. I know he's got a wonderful outlook on life and that's about all I know. Why?" Noelle wondered.

"Well, I know I just met you and all…but you're really easy to talk to and…I really like Edward and…I thought that maybe if you knew him well he could have…said something about me." Mia said blushing all over. Noelle smiled.

"If he says anything, I'll surely let you know." She reassured Mia. Noelle thought for a moment. "Mia…" her voice was less confident now.

"Yeah?" Mia looked at her as she returned to her seat. Noelle shook her head.

"Never mind…I'll…ask you later perhaps." Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright!" Mia didn't even wait on Edward to dig in to her plate. She wasn't going to let this food just sit here!


	6. Too Much Information

"I hope you don't mind me asking but would you mind helping me in the kitchen?" Micaiah asked of Noelle. Micaiah didn't need help in the kitchen…okay she did but this was her way of learning more about this unknown Nevassa civilian laborer.

"I don't mind at all. Would you like me to bring some things in to wash?" she asked.

"That would be great, just go through that door back there." Micaiah pointed behind her. There was a lot of clean up to do this evening before everyone broke away into the smaller rooms of Sothe and Micaiah's beautiful home.

"I'll be back when we're finished." Noelle told Leonardo before following Micaiah toward the door in the back of the dining hall.

"Now why would she do that? There are forty other people around this table that can help Micaiah." Leonardo asked Nolan. Nolan put his wine glass down.

"It's very simple…Micaiah is going to find out as much as she can about this…pardon my crassness but…beautiful woman you brought here with you tonight. Tell me something…" Nolan leaned in toward Leonardo. Leonardo listened carefully for what Nolan was about to say. "What's going on with Edward and Mia?" Leonardo glanced behind him but noticed somehow Edward had slipped away and so had Mia.

"Where did they go?" Leonardo asked Nolan questioningly.

"That's why I'm asking you…what's going on?" Nolan questioned again.

"Well, I think….that might be something. But I don't think he knows for sure yet. Meanwhile, in the kitchen Micaiah had her hands in the sink soaping up dishes. There was a lot of work to be done in here tonight.

"That's very interesting, you must be smart to have those skills." Micaiah said. She was obviously in the middle of a conversation and this was one of the fragments of it. "So, how long have you known Leonardo?"

"Let's see… about a year." Noelle answered her drying off a pile of plates in front of her.

"Yeah? Really? Why have I never met you before then?" Oh no…Micaiah had it in her mind that this was Leonardo's girlfriend.

"Hmmmm…well I don't see why our paths would have crossed unless you needed something sewn of course." Noelle handed over a plate. Micaiah was confused.

"Well...I don't mean to pry but…are you two serious?" she asked taking the plate and putting it in the cabinet above her. Noelle stopped what she was doing.

"Oh…..Oooooooh…I think you may have misunderstood. I….I don't know Leonardo that way…" Noelle laughed nervously. She thought she may drop the plate in her hands. Now Micaiah felt like an idiot.

"Oh my gosh…I am so sorry." Micaiah took her rubber gloves off and put her hands on Noelle's shoulders. "It's just that…I mean…you're so gorgeous and… I just knew you had to be that girl he talks about every time I see him." Micaiah said returning to the sink. Noelle felt her heart sink to the bottom of her chest. She resumed her drying.

"There's a girl?" she asked even though that was probably so inappropriate to ask such a thing of someone whom she had met only a few hours earlier.

"Yeah…he's mentioned this girl several times before that he's crazy about….he says she's so beautiful and so perfect and he said she has long black hair like yours. That's why I thought it had to be you." Micaiah thought for a moment. "Oh, and she's a seamstress in Nevassa, I almost forgot!" Oops…Micaiah didn't yet know Noelle was a seamstress. She probably should have talked to Sothe first…

Noelle felt her mouth drop open. This time her heart leapt into her throat. She nearly dropped the dish to the floor she was drying. She spun around quickly but Micaiah was still facing the sink. Thank goodness because her eyes were as big as those plates right now and her heart was racing. Thank goodness Micaiah didn't see the expression on Noelle's face right now. "Wait…what?" Noelle tried as hard as she could to keep her voice calm.

"She's a seamstress…I guess a really good one too." Micaiah said. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't be talking about things like this. I got a little carried away because I…I just knew you had to be that girl. Micaiah needed to just keep her back to Noelle because Noelle felt like she might faint a little bit.

Edward and Mia were sitting in front of a stone fireplace in the den of the house. Edward took the liberty to show Mia some of Micaiah's photo albums. He knew there were some good pictures to show Mia. Edward was careful to keep his wine glass far from the pages. He didn't even notice how closely Mia was sitting to him on the couch.

"Oh wow look at that one! That's a very good picture." Mia said looking at one of the pages.

"And look at this one. This was taken at one of our base camps. I'm glad those days are over." Edward said reminiscing a bit. Mia took a drink of wine.

"Is this your dog?" Mia asked pointing to one of the pictures.

"No, me and Leonardo found him one night outside of camp so we brought him back and gave him the leftover meat scraps from dinner that night. You should have seen him eat it! He was so hungry!" Edward said. "I'd like to have a dog now though. We couldn't take him with us to our next destination."

"I like this picture. The scene of the valley is beautiful." Mia noticed.

"It is a nice picture; I don't know who took it, probably Sothe." Edward said. Just then Edward noticed Leonardo passing the door.

"There you are! We've been looking for you." Leonardo said entering the den. "What album are you looking at?"

"Look at this, remember that dog we found? Someone took a picture of me and him." Edward pointed out.

"I do remember that dog! He ate so many scraps that night." Now Leonardo was faced with a dilemma. Noelle had sat on the hearth in front of the fireplace to get warm. The dilemma was this: sit on the hearth which was obviously not the correct option because it would be ridiculous to sit on the hearth with her or sit in one of the two chairs beside the fireplace. Or the third option would be to just stand here over Edward and watch her beautiful silhouette as she delicately swirled the red wine around the glass in the fire's soft glow; and wish to sweep her up and hold her tight... that clearly wasn't a wise choice. Oooh the decisions…logic said the chair beside the hearth was the best option. Leonardo wanted so much to push her long black hair off her shoulder…just to see what it felt like. Riiiiiiiight….like that was a remote possibility.

Leonardo noticed how closely Mia was sitting to Edward. If she had gotten any closer she would have been on his lap. Leonardo smiled and looked at Edward, he watched him for a while waiting for Edward to make eye contact with him but it never happened. Surely Edward couldn't have been that oblivious. Of course, seeing how Mia was so close to Edward gave Leonardo an excellent idea. These past ten seconds felt like eternity.

"Can we see that when you're done with it?" Leonardo asked Edward.

"Definitely, but here look at this one. This one is better than the one we're looking at now." Edward said.

"What's in this album?" Leonardo asked taking it from the table.

"The Nevassa festival from last year." Edward said.

"Oh that was so much fun. I bet there are some good pictures in here." Leonardo said. Without even asking her, Leonardo sat his wine glass on the table and sat on the hearth with Noelle.

"I've heard of that. It's like a really big deal isn't it?" Noelle asked.

"It is. It's invitation only and completely worth the invite." Leonardo said. Noelle smiled all over. She was still very fluttery from the confession from Micaiah earlier that she was never supposed to hear. Well, she was never supposed to hear it from Micaiah. "Here is all of us on the front steps to the Daein Keep. Oh, I remember that night it was the perfect summer evening." Leonardo said.

"That's right. It's held in July, right?" Noelle took another sip of wine.

"It is and it was really hot that night." Leonardo said.

"Remember how I lost my suit jacket and couldn't find it all night?" Edward asked.

"Edward…I'll never forget that. We found it in a tree." Leonardo told him.

"Yeah…I wonder how it got there?" Edward said smiling.

"That does sound like something you would do." Mia said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward quizzed her. Leonardo turned the page but watched Mia carefully. Mia laughed.

"Well, the other day when we went to the park you left your watch there…then you left your wallet at your house." Mia said. Edward thought a moment.

"And don't forget when we all went on that trip south last year and you forgot one of your suitcases." Leonardo said.

"That wasn't an important suitcase!" Edward tried to defend himself.

"Edward, it had half your clothes in it…you wore everything I had for a week!" Leonardo said laughing at him.

"Wow...I do this kind of thing a lot…" Edward realized as he reached for his wine glass again.

"Where did you all go last year?" Noelle asked as she turned the next page.

"Lake Alpa." Leonardo answered her.

"It was so fun! We had a canoe and we built fires and we went hiking and we fished and I turned the canoe over a couple times and then Leonardo got us lost trying to go into the city but still it was so much fun!" Edward said getting a little worked up.

"He turned the canoe over every time he was in it. And yes, I did get us lost." Leonardo whispered to Noelle. Noelle laughed.

"Leonardo, we walked three miles out of our way!" Edward said.

"I really thought it was a shortcut. I wasn't expecting the poison ivy though." Leonardo admitted. He froze at the feeling of Noelle's hand in the middle of his back.

"You meant well I'm sure…you're back is really hot, do you need to move?" That was a bold move…or was it? Was that entirely innocent and not a 'move' at all? It would remain unknown because right now Leonardo was frozen in place.


	7. A Bold Move

"Come to breakfast with us tomorrow!" Edward tried to whisper but he wasn't doing a very good job so it was a good thing Mia had Noelle and Nephenee gripped in the middle of some sort of conversation.

"What if she has work to do tomorrow morning?" Leonardo asked him.

"What if she doesn't! Ask her if she wants to come to breakfast tomorrow!" Edward said poking Leonardo hard.

"Edward, she's talking to Mia right now. I can at least wait until they are done." Leonardo said logically.

"Oh…yeah…I'd probably interrupt but that's just me!" Edward said.

"It's none of my business, but since I obviously thought you were already dating her and now I realize you're not…you really need to ask that one to breakfast tomorrow. I see it in her eyes." Nolan interjected quietly as he directed his coach. Nolan should know, right? He was quickly approaching 40; he should have plenty of life experience.

"What do you mean?" Leonardo asked him. Even Edward was a bit intrigued by this comment.

"There's a light in her eyes. She won't tell you no." Nolan said confidently.

"But…her eyes always light up like that." Leonardo said trying to make this completely logical.

"Yeah…every time you've seen her. But I bet when she's at home alone in the middle of her work she loses that fire. You chicken out if you want, I'm just saying." It was all Nolan said. Neither Edward or Leonardo even realized he was that observant.

"You have to do this Leonardo…if you can't do this… then I definitely can't ask Mia to be my girlfriend." Edward said swallowing hard. He watched as Leonardo covered his mouth with both hands. Edward didn't think he had ever seen Leonardo that shocked.

"Are you…you're...you!?" That sentence made perfect sense! Edward cut him off.

"Look, you are crazy about her…if you can't ask her to go to breakfast with us tomorrow then there is just no way in the world that I can do this." Leonardo had never seen Edward that serious. He shook his head.

"I can do this…you're…my best friend. I can do this." Leonardo said. Edward's face lit up.

"Great! I'll make it easier for you…oops curve!" Edward said shoving Leonardo over into Noelle's side. Oh Edward….it's a straight road. So, now that Edward had shoved Leonardo over here he was; his face nearly buried in her sweet smelling silken hair. This absolutely did NOT make things any easier.

"I am so sorry that…I am leaning over here right now and interrupting your conversation…It's just that Edward got a little carried away." Noelle turned to face him. Oooooh this was dangerous. She was so close to Leonardo right now. She smiled.

"That's…that's alright…may…maybe Edward should get carried away more often." She laughed and pushed Leonardo away from her. What the…what was that supposed to mean!?!? And she actually put both hands on Leonardo!? Leonardo hadn't felt this sick to his stomach since that time he and Edward drank way too much together. But this was that kind of sick that you got when you thought that maybe the one you were crazy about had it for you too but you just weren't freaking sure! It was that kind of sick… Okay, it was time to do something insane…Leonardo put a trembling hand on Noelle's. Her eyes immediately shot downward.

"Do…." Leonardo could feel his teeth chattering but he wasn't even that cold. He was still thinking about what Noelle had said just now. "Do you want…to go to breakfast with Edward and…" Oh my god he forgot her name! Crap…it starts with am M…. "Mia." Leonardo finally finished that sentence trying to be as calm as humanly possible! Noelle didn't respond right away instead she squirmed her hand around underneath Leonardo's until her fingers were interlaced with his. My god this woman was bold… Leonardo knew this was the most wonderful dream he had ever had and that any minute Edward would throw water in his face and he would wake up on Edward's couch. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest.

"Tomorrow morning? Sure, yeah…that would be great. Mia's actually spending the night with me tonight instead of her staying at the inn. I told her that would be silly to pay fifty gold coins to stay there and they don't even include any coffee. That's what we were talking about before…Edward got carried away." For some reason, that made Leonardo relax about two percent.

"That's so kind of you to let her stay." Leonardo said dreamily. "Listen, I need to tell you that…" Leonardo closed his eyes. "Hold on a second…Edward is poking me repeatedly and frankly it hurts a little." Leonardo turned his head and glared at him.

"What!?" he hissed at him softly.

"Well?" Edward said hardly audible.

"Yes, answer's yes…now…look over me and swear to me you won't yell." Leonardo said so no one else could hear. Edward did as he was instructed but saw nothing.

"What?" Edward asked confused.

"Look over me and look down." Leonardo instructed him quickly. Edward was so confused. But then he saw what Leonardo wanted him to see. He gasped.

"How did you do that!? Edward's voice was almost too loud.

"I didn't…she did. I just won't let go of her now and see how she reacts." Leonardo said.

"Hey, can I come by your place tonight after we get in Nevassa? We need to talk about tomorrow." Edward said.

"Yeah, yeah that's fine…okay bye." Leonardo said quickly and turned back to Noelle. "I'm sorry, what I was going to tell you was that I'm really glad you came with me tonight to the winter dinner."

"Well, I'm glad you asked me to go with you. It was a fun night and I enjoyed meeting your long time friends." Noelle said.

"Maybe you'd…like to do something else with me sometime. Like when you're not busy, I know you're busy with your work and all." Noelle could feel herself blush.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." Noelle had just set Leonardo's world on fire. This coach had arrived at its destination at Edward's house. It was time to bid their farewells, unload the empty containers and send Nolan and Nephenee on their way.

"Bye Nolan! Thanks for taking us tonight!" Edward said.

"Yes, thank you Nolan. It was good seeing you again." Leonardo said. He hated the fact that he had to actually let go of Noelle…but it wouldn't be nearly as scary to get a hold of her again. Once they were unloaded, Edward needed to unlock his house so that Mia could get her suitcase. Noelle was carrying all four of her empty pans at this point.

"Here, let me take those." Leonardo said motioning for her to give him the pans. She just handed over two of them, there was no reason to give him all of them. Mia had gotten her suitcase which was just inside Edward's door.

"Okay, let's go!" Edward said locking his door again.

"Are you coming with us?" Mia asked happily.

"Of course we are, it's snowing and we're not going to let you walk to Noelle's home alone!" Edward said. Mia smiled at him.

"You're so sweet Edward." Mia seemed a little captivated by Edward right now. If Edward would have asked her to be his girlfriend right now she would have surely said yes. The truth was that Mia thought Edward was sweet, gentle and exuberant. She loved being around Edward and he made her happy every time he was with her. But now wasn't the time or the place to ask such things. The grandest disappointment in this walk to Noelle's house was the fact that Leonardo couldn't grab her hand now; but there would be another opportunity…wouldn't there?

It was actually a peaceful evening, even amongst the busy Nevassa streets. The snow had blanketed much of the city and the people and horses were out in spite of it.

"Nevassa is really a beautiful city." Mia said admiring the clock tower that was illuminated tonight and the beautiful architecture of the city hall. "Is it always this busy at night?"

"It is! These streets stay alive until the early morning hours. There's always something to do in Nevassa!" Edward told her. "I could take you through the whole city blindfolded, Mia!"

"He's not exaggerating one bit. He really could, Mia." Leonardo told her. Nevassa didn't really remind Mia of the Crimean capital of Melior, the architecture here was different and the people were more hospitable; she found it charming. It was a big city but it felt so welcoming. She looked up above her at what appeared to be apartments rising above her on both sides of the street. There were obviously people living there judging by the pillars of smoke rising from the chimneys. The smells of Nevassa also had Mia gripped in a trance. It smelled like smoked meat and she didn't ever remember this scent in Melior.

"Mia! I'm going to take you to the central market tomorrow! It's the biggest market in the whole city! You won't believe how many vendors set up there!" Edward said grabbing her arm. Mia radiated.

"I can't wait to see it!" She was could not be beaming any more.

"I live near one of the much, much smaller ones. Just groceries and a few goods. It's convenient that I don't have to go twelve blocks into town whenever I need something quick. But if I have a list or if I need fabric it's better to visit the central market." Noelle explained tomorrow.

"Do you know how busy it's going to be at the market tomorrow? Tomorrow is the busiest day of the week for the market." Leonardo reminded Edward.

"We don't care! I want Mia to see how huge it is!"Edward said glowing. They were now in the center of town and had six more blocks to go before arriving at Noelle's house. The streets would start to thin out now since they were leaving the center of the action. It was bittersweet, on one hand they didn't have long to go and this night would be over. But, on the other hand Leonardo and Edward had a lot to talk about tonight and they just had to hash it all out before tomorrow morning.

"What part of Nevassa are we in?" Mia asked Edward.

"This is the north and you never want to be on the south side at this hour. Actually, it's never really a good idea to be on the south side. There's a lot of crime there." Edward warned. The south side of Nevassa was where most of the slums were located.

"Oh, I see. That's like in Melior. It's always said the east side of Melior is pretty rough. I don't know though, I'm not I Melior that much since I live outside of the city. The streets were nearly bare now as the approached the final block of their trip. The snow had let up a bit but that didn't help the fact that the cobblestone roads and sidewalks were completely covered. The only thing to be seen on these residential streets was the occasional dog in search of a meal or someone finishing their shift at the butcher's shop.

"Here we are." Noelle told Mia, searching her pocket for her house key. Once she got the door open she let Mia go in ahead of her. "Come in, come get warm before you leave." She motioned for Edward and Leonardo to follow her inside. "Just put your suitcase down Mia, please make yourself at home." Noelle said sitting her pie pans on the kitchen table. She took her casserole pans from Leonardo. The metal was ice cold from this trip through Nevassa. She shed her cloak and hung it in the closet behind her.

"Aww, you have a kitten!" Mia was greeted by the kitten that Noelle had found not too long ago.

"Yes, he's the new addition. He's very sweet." Noelle said reaching down for him and putting the kitten in Mia's lap.

"Thanks for letting us warm up Noelle before we take off again." Edward said.

"Well, you need to, it's cold out there. Listen, I'll be right back. My father needs his medication." Noelle said taking something out of the cabinet and disappearing upstairs.

"So, for tomorrow are we supposed to meet you at The Lantern?" Mia asked not having any idea where this place was but assuming Noelle would know.

"No! We'll come by. It's actually not far from here. Say…9:30 tomorrow." Leonardo interjected.

"Yeah, we'll be here at 9:30." Edward said realizing this was originally his idea but that he never bothered to work out any of the details. That's another thing he needed Leonardo for…Edward could come up with these grand plans but he never could seem to work the details out…ever.

"Sorry about that. Father has to have it every night and he can't hold the water to take it." Noelle explained.

"We'll be here at 9:30 tomorrow." Leonardo told her.

"Very well we'll be ready." Noelle said.

"We've got to leave. It's late." Edward said and he was right. He and Leonardo made their way towards the door. Noelle opened it for them as Mia stayed close behind her.

"I'm sure I can speak for Mia when I say tonight was really fun." Noelle said leaning against the door. Mia agreed with her.

"Mia! Get some sleep you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow!" Edward told her.

"I will!" Mia promised.

"Leonardo…" Noelle started. Leonardo watched her with heavy eyes. "Bye." Her smile could have turned the night to day…okay in Leonardo's mind it could have…

"Bye." He answered her. She closed the door behind her.

"So, you're seriously going to go through with this? You're going to ask Mia tomorrow?" Leonardo asked of Edward as they began their walk to Leonardo's house.

"I told you…if you could ask Noelle to come to breakfast I could do this. Now let's get to your house. We have so much to talk about." Edward said hurrying Leonardo down the street.


	8. When Girls Tell the Truth

Leonardo watched Edward pace the floor in front of him. Edward sighed.

"Okay, now…we have to think about this. I can't ask Mia while you're with me…so….you and Noelle are going to leave tomorrow morning after we have breakfast so I can ask Mia at The Lantern." Edward said. Wow….Edward actually thought something through.

"And how exactly do you want me to handle this?" Leonardo asked. "Do you want me to just be like…hey Noelle we're leaving now so Edward can move in on Mia."

"Say you have to go to the bank!" Edward said excitedly.

"Tomorrow is Sunday, genius." Leonardo reminded him.

"You have to think of something because I don't know." Leonardo thought for a moment as he laid down on his couch.

"You know what I think…I don't think you should ask her to be your girlfriend at The Lantern. " Leonardo told him.

"If it were you…what would you do?" Edward asked still pacing.

"I already know…when it happens…and I don't know what that is…but when it does…I'm going to do it at the coast." Leonardo said.

"The coast!? The coast!? That's like seven hours away!!" Edward shouted.

"I know." Leonardo said calmly.

"Why are you picking the coast?" Edward asked now intrigued by this.

"When you and I went to the coast what was first impression?" Leonardo asked.

"It was…it was beautiful! It was spectacular! It was one of the most amazing sights I'd ever seen and it was so pristine and…" Edward looked at Leonardo who was watching him this whole time as he went through this. "…it was perfect." Leonardo shook his head.

"Exactly…don't do it in Nevassa, Edward."

"Daaaaaaah! I don't have time to take Mia to the coast!" Edward said.

"No, you don't but you two are doing other stuff tomorrow right? You said something about going to the river or something like that, right?" Leonardo asked him.

"Yes, we are going to do that. But remember, I don't have all day with her." Edward said.

"Ask her to be your girlfriend on the river banks. I know waiting kills you and all but that is so much better than in the middle of The Lantern." Leonardo encouraged him.

"Thank you. That's why I always need to run things by you first." Edward said. He laughed and shook his head. "You know, it's weird for me…because I always thought you'd be first and that I could just learn everything from you."

"What do you mean?" Leonardo asked him.

"I just always figured you'd have a girlfriend way before me." Edward said sincerely. Leonardo laughed at him.

"No, no. I always knew you'd be first because I'm sure the minute Mia looked at you and smiled you went berserk. Besides, you have a tendency to act on things way before I ever would." Leonardo said. Edward laughed, he knew he was way more impulsive than Leonardo would have ever dreamed of being.

"I better go, its 12:30." Edward said getting up to leave.

"What do you mean you better go? Come on, go get us an ale and stay with me a while. You and I have roamed the streets later than 2:30 before!" Leonardo reminded him.

"Alright, where do you keep them?" It didn't take any convincing.

"Um, in the kitchen." Leonardo said wondering where else Edward thought he would be keeping ale.

"Okay, while I'm getting that you tell me what it was like holding the hand of the woman you're smitten over." Edward said. Meanwhile, across town in Noelle's house Noelle and Mia were settling in for the night.

"Do you want some tea or hot chocolate or something?" Noelle asked returning from changing clothes.

"Yeah, I'd love some." Mia answered.

"Great, I'll make it while you take your shower. I put a towel and things out for you." Noelle told her. Noelle was already wrapped up in her robe with soaking wet hair. Mia smiled at her.

"You're so nice and you know what I like about you…its real nice…it's not pretend nice." Mia said sincerely.

"Life's too short to have a bitter disposition." Noelle told her getting out a sauce pan to make hot chocolate. Mia smiled. She felt so comfortable around Noelle even though she had only met her at the beginning of the night.

"Can I tell you something? I've been thinking about this for days and days but I haven't had anyone to tell it to." Mia said getting ready to go take her shower.

"Yeah, go ahead." Noelle said looking for her cocoa powder. Mia laughed.

"Well, I know you said you didn't know Edward that well but…I can't stop thinking about him! He's so fun to be around and he never fails to make me laugh. I just…I think Edward's great. Thanks for letting me tell you that. It's been driving me crazy." Noelle smiled at her.

"Tell you what, after you come back from your shower and I have this done…I'll tell you something." Noelle said. Mia's eyes lit up.

"Alright, yeah…okay I won't be long." Mia scurried off. Noelle got all of her ingredients out and began to combine everything in the saucepan. She knew the timing would be about right that Mia would return about the same time the hot chocolate was done. Noelle added the milk and continued stirring. Stirring things was so relaxing. She was lost in her own thoughts. In fact she was so distracted that she didn't hear Mia's eventual return.

"Where would you like me to put your towel?" Mia asked walking into the room again. Noelle snapped out of it.

"Oh, oh yes the towel….just put it in that basket by the stairs. That will be fine." Noelle told her pouring hot chocolate into an oversized mug. She sprinkled cinnamon on the top and handed it over to a wet-headed Mia.

"Do you mind if I have hot chocolate with you while I comb my hair out?" Mia asked.

"Not at all, do you mind if I put my curlers in?" Noelle asked putting out the fire in the stove.

"You curl your hair?" Mia asked as Noelle left the room to retrieve her curlers and pins.

"I do sometimes. Maybe two or three days a week." Noelle picked up her mug and joined Mia in the living room where her couch was. Mia stayed in the floor as she ran a comb through her hair.

"Neat. I've always worn my hair straight so I'll be interested to watch you do this." Mia said tasting the hot chocolate. "This is really good."

"You want me to curl your hair too? I have lots of curlers." Noelle asked.

"That's okay. I want to see what it looks like on you." Mia said. "Now, what were you going to tell me?" Noelle smiled and looked down into her box. She started to wrap the first lock of hair over the roll.

"Tonight when I went to help Micaiah with the dishes…she told me something I don't think I was supposed to hear." Noelle said.

"What did she tell you!?" Mia asked completely intrigued.

"She started talking about how Leonardo really liked this girl and then she said that the girl that he really liked was a seamstress in Nevassa." Noelle shared with her. Mia's face was priceless.

"No way! She didn't know you were a seamstress did she!?" Mia said still combing her hair.

"She obviously, did not." Noelle said.

"What did you do!?" Mia wondered.

"I panicked a little but then regrouped myself and kept drying dishes. But it was really weird when I was done and going back into the dining hall where Leonardo was. Because I couldn't stop smiling and I'm sure he wondered why." Noelle said rolling another curler up.

"You can't stop smiling right now!" Mia said. She looked around as if someone were listening to her. "Leonardo's beautiful…" she said softly. She watched as Noelle turned blood red.

"I….will not deny that for a minute." She said. Mia looked around again as if someone were listening.

"Well…do you like him? I won't say a thing to Edward I promise. You can tell me!" Mia said frantically her voice was soft as if she were hiding. She watched as Noelle avoided eye contact with Mia. She was still smiling. She bit her lower lip.

"I might…a little…" Noelle laughed. "Okay, I'm lying…a lot. I like him a whole lot." Noelle sighed; she actually felt better that she had shared that with Mia. "I think Leonardo is wonderfully kind and virtuous and…" Noelle closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "…my god…so gorgeous…do you know how hard it is to sew for him? Imagine, being two inches from Edward with a pin cushion in one hand and you have to actually put your hands on him and make sure your darts are even and your stitching matches!" Noelle shared with Mia. Mia was totally submerged in this. She always wanted a girl to talk about these things with and Titania was just not that girl…but Noelle was.

"Whoa…that would be hard…whoa…wow….I would just….freak! I mean, the best I can do is sit close to Edward without getting that tingly, fluttery feeling. By the way, you keep your cool really well." Mia said taking another drink of the hot chocolate. Mia smiled.

"This is really fun. I don't have anyone to talk to about stuff like this at home." She said.

"Well, neither do I. I think it's safe to say that this could be the start of our friendship." Noelle told her.

"Totally." Mia answered her.

I just want to take a minute and say thanks to everyone who has been reading this and to those of you who have given me reviews! It means a lot to me especially when I post something that I'm unsure about (and I was unsure about posting this story), so thanks everybody and I hope you keep reading!


	9. Edward's Big Break

"Thank you for taking me to see the Keep today." Noelle said. It had been a wonderful morning. After breakfast Leonardo took Noelle to see the Keep while Edward and Mia took off. Leonardo couldn't stop thinking about how it may be going for Edward. Right now he still had Noelle's hand in his as he approached her door.

"I hope I didn't impose on your work by wanting to take you to see it. It's just that it only looks that way in winter." Leonardo said.

"No, not at all. I never start working on Sundays before 1:00." Noelle said. She lied. It was probably the first lie she had ever told in her life. Noelle always worked all day on Sunday but she would put it all off if it meant being with Leonardo a little longer. But now here they were at her doorstep…now what!? He couldn't just let her walk through that door without saying anything! He could kiss her, if that wasn't an obvious way of saying I adore you nothing was. No, no, no, no, no, nooooooo that's not an option!

"Noelle…how….horribly inappropriate…would it be…if I asked you to go with me to a wine tasting later this week? I saw it in the paper this morning. Um…like, you know…" Leonardo stopped for a minute. Say it, say it, say it, say it…. "…like as a date." Leonardo could feel that cold nervous feeling overtake him again. Right now it was taking everything in Noelle's power to hide the zeal that overtook her. But Mia was right, she kept her cook amazingly well.

"It wouldn't be at all inappropriate…because I would say that I would love to go." Why did her smile have to light up the whole world!? "And I should probably also tell you…" she was getting ready to say the gutsiest thing she had ever said. She would have never said it had she not heard what she had from Micaiah "…that…I…purposely didn't finish your jacket on time." It was true that Noelle didn't have it done on the Wednesday of the week as promised which was highly unlike her to miss a deadline. "When you came to pick it up…I just wanted an excuse to see you again. I'm sorry to have misled you like that." Leonardo watched as Noelle fidgeted with her fingers. That was the greatest thing he had ever heard in his life; except now he was so floored by this confession that he had no idea what to say. He probably should have pulled an Edward right here and acted on impulse and wrapped his arms around her; but no. This was Leonardo, he just had to use rational logic!

"You can…see me whenever you want." He smiled at her even though that was probably not the best answer. At any rate, it would have to work for now.

"So, when is this wine tasting?" she asked.

"Thursday." He answered her.

"Alright. Come by for dinner first. What do you like?" Noelle asked. Leonardo was speechless. Great, missed opportunity number two to just confront that he was bonkers over her and she obviously wasn't resisting him and get past this walking on broken glass! Right now Leonardo's mind was completely blank…he had no idea what he liked. What did she even ask? It was something about coming by for dinner but that was all he heard.

"Leonardo, what do you want me to fix?" she asked again. He just shook his head.

"I don't care…anything." he said helplessly.

"I'll surprise you then. I'll um…I'll see you Thursday." She said.

"Yeah…yeah…I'll see you then." Oh, Leonardo snap out of your daze!

"Bye." Noelle closed the door behind her. She had to get to work…well almost had to get to work. Once inside, she threw her coat on the couch, grabbed a piece of paper and her pen. She started to write: Dear Mia…

Edward and Mia were at their last stop of the day. The time was slipping away before Mia would return to Crimea.

"Are you cold Mia because we could go inside somewhere and warm up." Edward asked her.

"No, I'm fine actually. We've been so busy that I haven't even noticed being cold. We've done so much today, I can't believe how well you know this city." Mia said. Edward felt his heart start to race a little. He tensed up.

"You start to memorize things after a while." Edward said.

"I like it here. This is a nice place. I'd like to see more of you in the future Edward." Mia's voice was serious as she looked at the ground. This was your chance Edward, right here…

"I'd like to see more of you too," was all Edward said. And now we have yet another missed opportunity. They walked along the river banks for quite a distance. Part of the river was frozen from the assault of winter. The land looked different in peace time than it did in war time. Edward thought about the way things used to be. He didn't want to go back to those times. Things were so much better now. As far as Edward was concerned his life was perfect right now. The only thing that he could add to it was Mia. But here he was stalling and if he didn't get his act together she was going to leave for Crimea and who knew when he would see her again!

"What's that big building over there?" Mia asked pointing across the river.

"It's some kind of government building. I'm not sure what's in it but I know that it has government offices inside." Edward said.

"It's a lovely building." Mia said. They walked farther down the river bank. They were getting farther away, which would mean a longer trip for Mia, which would mean they would have to turn around sooner, which meant that Edward was running out of time!

"Thanks for taking me to the dinner with you. It was a lot of fun. I don't usually get to go to things like that. It's all work at home, you know?" Mia said.

"Yeah, it was a good night at the dinner. I just wish you could stay longer. It's too bad you have to go home this soon. There's so many more things I could show you! I could take you across the countryside to the wheat fields!" Edward paused. "Or to the coast…it's amazing there." Edward said thinking about what Leonardo had said about the coast. As predicted, it was time to turn around and head back so Mia would have less of a trip. Edward had said he was going to do this…and he hadn't yet. If they got back to the edge of Nevassa he would be too late, if he waited too much longer the sun would dip below the horizon. He was starting to panic. What if she said no!? Oh my god, what if she said no!?!? Edward hadn't thought about that….but he was thinking about it now!!! What if she said no and things got really awkward!? What if she didn't give him an answer at all!? What if she thought he was an awful guy for asking her such a thing in the limited amount of time Edward had known Mia!? Or worst….what if she wanted to challenge him to a duel and THEN give him an answer….oooooh he just knew he'd lose for sure! She was so delicate and she was so much fun and right now completely impossible to talk to….something they had in common with each other! Neither of them would shut up any other time!! Oooooh no….what if she said yes and….he kissed her goodbye!? Was that even allowed!? Oh crap….where was Leonardo when Edward needed him!!! What if she said yes and….and…well he didn't know! Just what if she said yes and something bad happened!? Edward could feel his palms become clammy with sweat even though it was so cold outside.

"Freaking out, freaking out, freaking out, freaking out, freaking ouuuuuuuuut!" Edward said to himself in his head at least fifty times. What if…what if all this happened exactly the way he saw it happening in his mind? If it did, then there was no reason to be flipping out right now. If everything happened exactly the way Edward wanted it to happen…then there was nothing to worry about! Edward stepped in front of Mia and put his hands on her shoulders. She stopped walking.

"Mia…" Edward began. He swallowed hard spite the fact that his mouth felt like cotton right now. She looked at him with inquisitive dark eyes. Edward sighed, his hands were trembling.

"Edward your hands are shaking." Mia said sweetly. She stepped in toward him and put her hands over his.

"Mia…" Edward said again. This time he was freaking out because now her coat was touching his. "You can do this, Edward…don't cave in…" Edward coached himself. He thought his heart might pound out of his chest. He took a deep breath and locked his eyes on hers. "Mia…I really like you…I really really like you…you're so pretty and so fun and so fun to be with…that was kind of the same thing but…" Stop getting sidetracked!! "…will you be my girlfriend?" Edward's hands were still shaking. Now, there was silence. The only sounds to be heard was the crows calling in the distance. A look of disbelief was spread across Mia's face. She still hadn't said anything. At least thirty minutes had to have passed by now, right? No, the reality was that about four seconds had passed.

"Yes..." Mia said still in disbelief. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Mia said beaming all over. Edward smiled, in fact he laughed. He mouthed 'Mia' but no sound came out. And of course, Edward, the king of acting on impulse did exactly that. Right there, on the banks of the river that poured into Nevassa; Edward had his first kiss with Mia.

I hope that you will join me for the sequel story! We still have a lot of unfinished business to cover. The title of the sequel is: Thanks Leonardo


End file.
